Dale Leatherman - Snowshoe Property Owners Group - April 15 2009 - Letter to Editor

Dear Editor:

In a recent editorial Pam Pritt commented on the current status of the regional sewage treatment plant proposal. While what she said about Snowshoe’s importance to the community is indisputable, it wasn’t totally accurate.

Ms. Pritt writes as if Snowshoe is only resort management, Fortress and Intrawest. It’s also 2,000 homeowners, without whom there would be no resort. The homeowners, as well as the resort, will foot the bill for an expensive regional plant that may not be necessary.

Ms. Pritt would have a better grasp of the issues if she had attended more PSD meetings instead of relying on information from her reporters. This is particularly true of recent meetings in which County Commissioner David Fleming explained the commission’s reasons for requesting a halt in funding for the project until more study can be done.

If she had attended the public meeting at Beckwith Lumber she would have heard representatives from no fewer than six Snowshoe homeowner associations express their opposition to building the plant at this time. This turnout was impressive on a week night when most homeowners could not attend.

The Snowshoe Property Owners Council (SPOC), which represents the majority of the homeowner associations, has long asked that the PSD delay applying for funding until the Elk Headwaters Watershed Association’s comprehensive watershed plan is completed. It has long advocated that the PSD and EHWA work in tandem for the good of the community and the environment.

Though we’re sorry it has come to this, SPOC applauds the efforts of Commissioners Fleming and Saffer to halt the IJDC funding at this time. Our understanding is that once the funding is approved for a $25 million plant at Site 7, there can be no significant changes as to location or scope of the project. The resort and homeowners will be saddled with some of the highest rates in the state to operate a plant that may be under-utilized and pose an environmental threat. This can only hurt the county if resentful homeowners chose to spend their money elsewhere.

There are no easy answers, and SPOC recognizes that the PSD believes it has found the right solution to a complex set of problems. SPOC also recognizes that the PSD hears the clock ticking on the availability of zero-interest or low-interest funding, and the expiration (in a little over two months) of the current DEP permit for the Snowshoe plant. That said, SPOC does not agree that these deadlines justify rushing into the project as currently outlined.

Ms. Pritt has bought into the scare tactics. We haven’t. Snowshoe Resort will continue to operate, providing money and jobs to the community, regardless of who owns it and whether or not there is a regional plant. And, given the environmentally friendly administration in Washington, money should be available for wastewater solutions in Pocahontas County when the county is ready. Nor do we accept the “it will cost more later” argument, which is simply inflation.

The commissioners are meeting with the DEP to discuss extending the permit. They and the PSD should be doing this together. The commissioners, PSD and EHWA should be putting their heads together to explore retrofitting the existing Snowshoe plant and finding an economical solution to wastewater problems in the valley.

Thanks to the new county commission, Snowshoe homeowners finally feel they have a voice in the community—a community greatly supported by their taxes. We look forward to a concerted effort by the PSD, Snowshoe management, the EHWA, the County Commission, SPOC and other concerned individuals and groups to steer Pocahontas County on the right track.

Dale Leatherman
Snowshoe